Hinge with conductors passing therethrough



Feb. 18, 1969 E. zYcHAl. 3,428,738

HINGE WITH CONDUCTORS PASSING THERETHROUGH Filed March 17, 1966v Sheet of 2 li; 34 le 2g 35 36 2O lNVENTOR. 55% 4 EDWARD ZYCHAL ATTORNEYS.

E. zYcHAl. y 3,428,738

HINGE WITH CONDUCTORS PASSING THERETHROUGH Feb. 18, 1969 Sheet Filed March 17, 1966 m T N E V W.

EDWARD ZYCHAL ATTORNEYS United States Patent Oliice 3,428,738 Patented Feb. 1s, 1969 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A hinge between a pair of pivotally connected plates includes a recess in each of the plates `and a channel in each of the plates coaxial with the axis about which pivoting occurs. The channel in each plate opens into the recess therein and extends toward the channel in the other plate terminating in facing lateral walls on the plates. A conductor passes into a recess in one plate, through both channels and out the recess in 4the other plate.

This invention relates to a wire hinge, and more particularly, to a device for conveying wires from one enclosure to another independent enclosure without exposing the wires.

In the past, -whenever it was desired to pass current from one enclosed housing to a second enclosed housing it was necessary to pass the wires from the inside of one housing through the outer wall of the housing and into the other housing by passing through the outer wall of the other housing. If the two housings were hinged together, the wire would appear in the form of an exposed loop. Using the device of this invention the rwires are completely enclosed in passing from one independent housing to another. Two of the problems of the exposed wires of the prior art was that the wires were subject to vandalism and to the various weather elements when the housings were used out of doors. These problems are completely overcome by the wire hinge of this invention.

`A particular use of the wire hinge of this invention is on neon road flashers which are customarily used in highway emergencies. These flashers general-ly comprise a first housing which encompasses a power source such as a battery and the circuitry for providing an electrical flash. A second independent housing includes a translucent shield and a neon bulb mounted within the shield. In use, the housing containing the translucent shield and the neon bulb is pivoted upwardly to rest on the housing containing the power source. In the past, exposed wires connected the power source to the neon bulb. With the device of this invention, the -wires are passed from the power source housing to the neon bulb housing without exposing any of the wires.y

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a novel wire hinge.

It is another object of this invention to provide -a device for passing wires from one housing to an independent housing without exposing the wires.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a device for passing wires from one housing to an independent housing that results in greater safety and Vandal resistance.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a device for passing wires from one housing to an independent housing that will provide weatherproof protection for the wires.

These and other objects of this invention are accomplished by providing a device for passing wires from one housing to another housing comprising a first plate and a second plate, said first plate being provided with a slot,

said second plate having at least a portion thereof positioned within said slot, said second plate having a channel formed therein for the reception of wires, said first plate having at least one channel formed therein which is aligned with the channel in said second plate, whereby a ywire may be passed from said first plate into said second plate by passing the wire through said channels.

Other objects and many of the attendant advantages of this invention will be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection wtih the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the wire hinge of this invention, taken from the bottom thereof;

FIG. 2 is a top plan View of the wire hinge of FIG. l;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a highway fiashing device showing the use of the wire hinge of this invention; and

FIG. 6 is a partial perspective view showing the device of FIG. 5 in its opened operational position, with a Weather shield removed for the purpose of clarity.

Referring now in greater detail to the various figures of of the drawings wherein similar reference characters refer to similar parts, a wire hinge embodying the present invention is generally shown at 10 in FIG. 1. Device 10 basically comprises a first plate 12 and a second plate 14.

First plate 12 is basically rectangular and includes a rounded rear edge 16 (FIG. 1). A substantially rectangular slot 18 is formed in plate 12. Slot 18 is of the same size as second plate 14. A pair of aligned circular recesses 20 is formed in the undersurface of plate 12. Recesse-s 20 are in communication with longitudinally extending channels 22 which connect the recesses with the lateral walls 24 of slot 18. A bolt 26 is molded int-o plate 12 adjacent each recess 20. As seen in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4, bolts 26 project below the lower surface of plate 12.

Plate 14 includes a circular recess 28 in its undersurface. Recess 28 is in communication with a transverse channel 30 which projects across the entire Width of plate 12 and through the lateral walls 32 of plate 14. Channel 30 includes rounded edges 33 leading into recess 28. Channel 30 is aligned with channels 22. A pair of bolts 34 are molded into plate 14 and project out of the bottom thereof.

As seen in FIG. 4, plate 14 also includes a rounded forward edge 35. As Seen in FIGS. 3 and 4, plates 12 and 14 have an identical height. An annular recess is formed in each lateral edge 32 of plate 14 and an annular recess is formed in each lateral edge 24 of plate 12. When channels 22 and 30 are aligned (FIG. 3), the recesses in their lateral walls will also be aligned. These recesses are filled with O-rings 36 which can be forced in place. The remainder of lateral walls 24 and 32 in the areas of the channels will substantially abut along lines 38 (FIG. 3).

In use, wires 40 will pass into plate 16 through recesses 20. These wires will then pass through channels 22 and 30 and out through recess 28 in plate 14. When leaving recess 28, the wires can be coupled as through a sleeve 42.

In use, plate 12 will be mounted on a first housing. This is accomplished by drilling holes which Would be aligned with bolts 26. The plate is then secured in place by securing nuts on bolts 26. If waterproofing is required a gasket can be placed between plate 12 and its associated housing. Plate 14 is then secured on a second housing which is independent of the first housing, but is hingedly secured to the first housing. Plate 14 is secured in place in the same manner as plate 12, that is, by nuts being threadedly secured on bolts 34. Again, rubber gaskets can be used where waterproofing is desired.

With the plates secured in place, wires passing from the first housing into the second housing will follow the path shown for wires 40 in FIG. 1. Thus these wires will pass from one housing to the other housing without being exposed. Thereafter, greater safety is accomplished since there is no fear of damage due to the weather elements or shock as a result of coming in contact with Wires on which the insulation may have been damaged. Additionally, there is less possibility of vandalism in view of the fact that the wires are enclosed.

The device of this invention can be used with any two housing wherein the protection of the wires is sought. Thus, it can be used on the highway emergency fiasher referred to above or on substantially any electrical appliance. For instance, it could be used in refrigerators when it is desired to have electrical current within the door. Thus, if an electrical switch were made for opening the refrigerator door, the use of the wire hinge of this invention would be a convenient and safe manner of furnishing electricity to the door.

In the embodiment shown, the hinge is not used for load bearing. Its sole function is for the transmission of electrical current through wires contained within the hinge. Thus, the hinge will be used in combination with conventional load bearing hinges. As an alternate embodiment, however, the hinge could be load bearing by providing a hollow hinge pin which would pass through channels 22 and 30. Thereafter, the wires would be fed through the hollow hinge pin and out through recesses 20 and 28.

Hinge plates 12 and 14 can be molded of substantially any plastic material or it can be formed from metal. When they are metal they can be given a protective and decorative coating such as chrome plating. Various plastics which might be used are epoxy resins, polyethylene, polypropylene and polystyrene. Any conventional bolts can be used, .such as brass or cadmium-plated steel.

The manner of using the wire hinge of this invention is shown in FIGS. and 6. In FIG. 5, a highway flashing device is generally shown at 44 with the wire hinge being shown at 10. Device 44 basically comprises a first housing 46 and Ia second housing 48. Housing 46 rests on rubber feet 49. Housings 46 and 48 are independent of each other but are pivotally secured together by hinges 50 having hinge pins 52. Wire hinge 10` has first plate 12 secured on housing 46 and second plate 14 secured on housing 48.

Housing 46 contains the power source, such as a battery, and the circuitry for the highway fiashing device, and housing 48 includes a translucent screen 54 and a neon bulb 56 (FIG. 6) arranged in a tortuous path in order to have light covering the major portion of the back of translucent screen 54.

A bar 58 having an arcuate slot 60 is provided for obtaining various angular positions for housing 48. This bar 58 is pivotally secured to housing 48 by rivet 62. A thumb screw 64 is threadedly secured in housing 46 and has the threaded portion thereof passing through slot 60. The tightening of the thumb screw will secure bar 58 in place at any desired position. Thus, translucent screen 54 can be angled in any position between that shown in FIG. 5, which is fully collapsed, to that shown in FIG. 6, which is fully open.

In FIG. 6, housing 48 is shown in its normal operational position. Thus the housing has been pivoted 180 from the position shown in FIG. 5. With the two housings in the position shown in FIG. 6, the device would normally be set up on a roadway and would be actuated. In this position, plate 14 has been pivoted into slot 18 of plate 12. When device 44 is actuated, pulses of current will pass through neon tube 56 periodically, such as every two seconds. When this happens, the neon tube will discharge, thereby giving an instantaneous fiash. Translucent screen 54 will serve to diffuse the ash of the neon tube and 4 make it appear across the entire surface of the translucent screen. Normally, housing 48 would have a rear protective covering thereon. This cover can be opaque or could comprise a second translucent screen. In FIG. 6, however, the covers is not shown in order that the internal surface of the housing 48 can .be seen. As seen in FIG. 6, bolts 34 of hinge plate 14 pass through the top surface of the housing. Nuts 66 are threadedly secured on the bolts and hold plate 14 in place. Wires 40 are shown as being secured to neon tube 56 and passing into sheathing 42 which in turn projects through an opening 68 in the top of housing 48. Thereafter, the wires will enter recess 28 in plate 14, in the manner shown in FIG. yl.

The wire hinge of this invention can be designed to fit `any pivotal arrangement such as that shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. One design feature of the wire hinge is that the height of plates 12 and 14 should be approximately the same as the total height of the associated mechanical hinges, such as hinges 50. The height of these hinges would be measured in the area of the hinge pin and the associated hinge barrels. Thus, if the height of the mechanical hinges were substantially greater than the height of the wire hinge, a shearing force would be applied against the wires passing through the wire hinge when a pivotal motion was applied to one of the housings. This is because hinge plate 14 would be pulled away from hinge plate 12 during the pivotal motion and this `in turn would affect the wires passing through plates 12 and 14. If the arc of pivoting were the same for the wire hinge and the mechanical hinges, as can be accomplished by having the equal heights described above, ther-e is no possibility of any shearing `force on the wires.

As pointed out above, the use of wire hinge 10 on the flashing device shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 is purely exemplary. The same principles applied to the hashing device can also be applied to any other electrical device wherein wires must be passed from one housing into another. Where design demands require, the sizes of the mechanical hinges and the corresponding sizes of the wire hinges can be varied, so long as the heights remain approximately equal.

Obviously many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in the light of the above teachings. It is, therefore, to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

What is claimed as the invention is:

1. An improved hinge comprising:

(a) a first plate having a pair of spaced lateral walls defining a slot and having a first outlet recess adjacent one of the lateral walls;

(b) a second plate having spaced lateral walls received within the slot defined by the spaced lateral Walls of the first plate, said second plate having an inlet recess therein;

(c) pivot means for pivotally connecting said second plate to said first plate so that the axis of pivoting passes through all of the lateral walls;

(d) first channel means in said second plate opening into said inlet recess and extending coaxially of the axis of pivoting and terminating at one lateral wall on said second plate;

(e) first channelmeans in said first plate opening into said first outlet recess and extending coaxially of the axis of pivoting and terminating at a lateral wall on said first plate which is adjacent said one lateral wall on said second plate;

(f) a first conductor passing into said inlet recess through said first channel means in said first and second plates and out said first outlet means; and

(g) said adjacent late-ral walls on said plates abutting and provided with annular grooves surrounding the terminations of said first channel means of said first and second plates for defining a recess, and an O-ring Iseated in said recess to establish said pivot means.

2. The hinge of claim 1 wherein said first conductor is smaller in cross-section than the cross-section of said fir-st channel means in =both plates.

3. The hinge of claim 1 wherein:

(a) rsaid lirst plate has a second outlet recess adjacent the other of its lateral walls;

(b) said second plate has second channel means opening into said inlet recess and extending coaxially of the axis of pivoting and terminating at the other lateral wall on said second plate;

(c) said rst plate has second channel means opening into said second outlet recess and extending coaxially of the axis of pivoting and terminating at said other latei'al wall; and

(d) a second conductor passes into said inlet recess through said second channel means and out of said second outlet means in both plates.

4. The hinge of claim 3 wherein the conductors are smaller in cross-section that the cross-section of the channel means.

FOREIGN PATENTS 1/ 1935 Great Britain.

DARRELL L. CLAY, Primary Examiner.

U.S. Cl. X. R. 

